Posts Tagged ‘Jock Palfreeman’

The annual fascist “Lukov March” is again planned for the 18/02/2017, the date marked by Bulgarian fascists as it was when the Communist rebel Violeta Yakova killed him as part of the class war and resistance against the then fascist regime.

In reaction to the barbaric affront that the Bulgarian fascists and their lumpen commit yearly there is also a yearly anti-Lukov March demonstration organised. The anti-Lukov March is more then just symbolic opposition to fascists in Bulgaria; it is also symbolic opposition of the crimes that the fascists commit against all human decency. For example when the fascists from the Bulgarian National Union make illegal identification checks on public streets, or when the Bulgarian National Resistance makes ambush attacks on human rights demonstrators in trams. The beating and assault of a random Bulgarian man in the park with the “excuse” that they thought he was a Roma. The anti-Lukov protests are general symbolic opposition not simply to General Lukov, it is against the crimes committed by his modern day acolytes. The fascist political parties such as Ataka and the Patriot Front. It is against the crimes committed by the fascist street gangs such as National Resistance and the NAZI football formations such as Sector B. (more…)

In the year since the first July 25th International Day of Solidarity with Antifascist Prisoners in 2015, there has been a disturbing increase of Far Right activity worldwide. Every day brings news of some new wave of reaction—in the name of nationalism and security—which demonizes refugees and immigrants, stokes hatred for Muslims, and attacks LGBTQ and other oppressed groups fighting for their liberation and their very lives.

We see Nigel Farage and UKIP in the UK, the Burmese magazine The Irrawaddy, the Front National in France, and Donald Trump in the U.S. all making the same racist claims about refugees using almost identical Far Right language. In response, anti-fascists from Poland, Thailand, Malaysia, England, Australia, Brazil, Burma, Greece, France, Sweden, the United States, and all points in between, have the same response to this bigoted garbage:

Antifascist prisoner Jock Palfreeman is currently a target for far-right smear campaign after he had been nominated to a “Human of the Year 2015” award by the human rights NGO Bulgarian Helsinki Committee. His nomination said as follows:

“In his work as Chairman of the Bulgarian Prisoners Rehabilitation Association (BPRA) Jock Palfreeman directly defends the human rights of prisoners in Bulgaria. Though consequential work to reform the criminal justice system of Bulgaria, the human rights of all Bulgarian citizens are enhanced. (more…)

Our comrades in NYC Antifa are calling for an international day of
solidarity with antifa political prisoners. Below is their call for
endorsements.

On Saturday, July 25, 2015 antifascists will fight against those who— in
the government or in the streets, dream of imposing their fascist and
other Far Right nationalist nightmares on the rest of us. Throughout the
world, Islamophobic, anti-Semitic, anti-immigrant, and racist bigotries
are on the rise. Antifas are on the frontline in confronting these
reactionary politics, and we will not forget our comrades imprisoned in
the course of this struggle. The July 25 International Day of Solidarity
with Antifascist Prisoners originated in 2014 as a day of Solidarity
with Jock Palfreeman, an Australian who is imprisoned in Bulgaria for
defending two Romani men from an attack by fascist football hooligans.
Groups around the world took action: holding demonstrations, benefits
supporting the Bulgarian Prisoners Association, writing to Jock, and
talking about the plight of the Romani and Sinti people in general. In
2015 we would like to expand this day of solidarity to all antifascist
prisoners around the world. We encourage groups to take the day to plan
an event of their choice— whether it is a letter-writing, demonstration,
benefit, or other action, and to focus on the prisoners and related
issues that are of most importance to them locally. For now, this is a
call for endorsements by international groups, organizations,
collective, and formations; a formal announcement is forthcoming.
ENDORSEMENTS CAN BE SENT TO: nycantifascistaction@gmail.com

If there is an antifa prisoner you support, please e-mail us with his or
her details and the language(s) they can read.

On the 6/7/14 at 8.30am the guard Peter Petrov performed the morning roll call, he entered cell 11 and started shouting in Bulgarian, a language no one present understood. As the roll call finished for that cell he then started to assault a mentally ill man from behind as he was not moving fast enough. The mentally ill man is about 45kgs, about 55 years old and a citizen of Comoros. He then retaliated and slapped the guard back after the guard Peter Petrov hit him and kicked him again, the guard came at the Comoros Islander again and the African took a chair to keep the guard away from him.

Three other guards came and only saw the Comoros islander with the chair and so they beat him too. Peter Petrov then ran out of the cell, locked all the cell doors and called for “assistance”. Forty guards came from two work shifts, from the Saturday evening shift and the incoming Sunday day shift, as now shifts are 12 hours. The forty guards summarily beat everyone in the cell – the man from Comoros, 4 Afghanis, 1 Pakistani, 1 Dutch man and an Algerian. They were not resisting in any way and most of the wounds inflicted by the guards are on their backs as they tried to cover their faces on the ground. All of these victims are incarcerated for illegal border crossing- they are all asylum seekers. (more…)

We add a clarification about the case of Jock Palfreeman. The imprisoned comrade has not taken responsibility for the armed wounding /death of the fascists that attacked him and the Roma he was with during the ‘index offence’ for which he is imprisoned. We issue this transmission to clear any possible errors contained in the transmission of the following article, and to take our share of responsibility for this error:

According to his own statements, Jock Palfreeman took out a knife in self-defense against his aggressors, but he has never admitted stabbing anyone. … Some people who support him usually write descriptions like “Andrey Monov was stabbed and killed and Antoan Zahariev was injured,” or “two of his attackers were injured of whom one died later from his injuries” – not indicating who the stabber was…(more…)

A few days ago Australian anti-fascist Jock Palfreeman was assaulted in Sofia Central Prison in Bulgaria (he says it was not “too badly”) but yesterday [July 6] the same guard assaulted another prisoner, an elderly man, and some of that man’s compatriots came to his assistance. These seven were then set upon by 40 guards, who brutally beat them.

Jock, in his role of secretary of the Bulgarian Prisoners Association, phoned a number of lawyers to help defend those assaulted. Now Jock has been threatened by the same prison guard has threatened him with another beating. (more…)

Jock Palfreeman is an Australian serving a 20-year sentence in Bulgaria. In 2007 he was travelling in Bulgaria when he defended two Roma men being attacked by soccer hooligans; in the ensuing fight, one of the attackers was killed under unclear circumstances. After a biased trial, Jock was convicted of murder, and the Bulgarian authorities refuse to transfer him from the notoriously run-down prison he is held in to Australia, without paying a huge fine. While in prison, Jock helped form the Bulgarian Prisoners Union, and has been beaten by guards in retaliation for his activism. (more…)

Jock Palfreeman, a young Australian anti-fascist currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for defending 2 young Roma lads being brutally attacked by fascist thugs, was attacked along with a group of his fellow prisoners on October 17. here is a statement released by him:

On the Bulgarian Prisoners’ Rehabilitation Association’s blog I have up until now not written much if anything about myself in an attempt to keep the Association’s blog neutral and equal for all issues and prisoners in Bulgaria and specifically Sofia Central Prison. However, I have done this at the expense of not reporting the prison’s attacks against myself for my unionism and solidarity with other prisoners, in an attempt to reform the corrupt prison administration, however on Thursday 17th of October an incident occurred involving myself that must be published. (more…)

No peace for the defenders of commodity-society. Their security = a joke once again.
Our latest target was Avon and Somerset Guarding, on Fishponds Rd, we broke half the storefront glass and attacked the CCTV camera, leaving an anarchy symbol tagged on the scene. Enough uniformed bastards in our lives, let’s trash the control apparatus. Shouts to anti-fascist of action Jock Palfreeman, held in Bulgaria – love for our comrades, hate for their jailers. That’s all for now

Australian Anti-fascist prisoner Jock Palfreeman, serving 20 years in Sofia/Bulgaria for defending two Roma boys from a racist mob, was on hunger strike from the 13th January 2013. The Director of the Central Sofia Prison had ordered another punishment measure because of Jock´s activist work as chairman of the Bulgarian Prisoner´s Association. Due to this punishment Jock is now not allowed to finish his studies which is very important to him. (more…)

Well, first of all, the Director stopped me from my Uni degree! See I’ve been helping other prisoners, obviously part of the union and solidarity with fellow convicts. So to punish me, for my solidarity ie legal advice! the Director of the prison cut me off from the computers where I write my essays. It happened several days ago after 10 guards badly beat a prisoner with batons. I helped the prisoner get legal advice and explained to him the procedure for how to instigate a criminal investigation into their attack. For that I’m being punished in that they are stopping me from my studies. (more…)

Australian Anti-fascist prisoner Jock Palfreeman, serving 20 years on Sofia/Bulgaria for defending two Roma boys from racist mob is on hungerstrike from 13th January 2013 because the Director of the Central Sofia Prison has ordered another punishment measures, most probably because of Jock´s activist work as chairman of the Bulgarian Prisoner´s Association.

Due to this punishment Jock is now not allowed to finish his studies which is very important for him.

Jock’s health is rapidly worsening as he continues his hunger strike and he is not even allowed to see a doctor as yet another repressive measure by the prison authorities.

He asks for solidarity from all of you by sending a petition to the Bulgarian Ministry of Justice :

At Thursday’s Jock Palfreeman solidarity demo in London [15/3/12] the AF’s Stormy Petrel flag and banners with ‘Free Jock’ and ‘Leeds Anarchist Black Cross’ were displayed. About 30 people turned-up to the picket including comrades from Norwich, Brighton, Bristol, London Anarchist Federation, Surrey/Hants AF, Staines Anarchists, Leeds Anarchist Black Cross, London ABC, ALARM and the Traveller Solidarity Network. Leaflets explaining Jock Palfreeman’s case were handed out and a Bulgarian Flag was burnt in front of the embassy.